The complete rules to Abandon Planet and Black & White PnP are available HERE!

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Kickstarter Pricing: Once the campaign is complete, Abandon Planet's price will increase for pre-order and retail. So if you're thinking about jumping on board, NOW is the time to do it for the best price and best shipping, which we have locked in for this campaign only! Thanks for being involved, and keep spreading the word about Abandon Planet!

From the creator of The Resistance and Avalon, Abandon Planet is a new game about escaping the meteor apocalypse. It's an experience of survival, betrayal, and fragile alliances in the moments before Earth is annihilated. Anyone who doesn't want to die on the soon-to-be-burning rock will have to team up with a partner to outfit their janky rocket transport for the interplanetary jump. But everyone's looking out for number one, and alliances can change at any time.

Each round players secretly decide which direction to send their rocket. They reveal their choices simultaneously, and then take turns flying out to the remaining chunks of earth, to pick up what they need or steal it from each other. This would all be safe and pleasant if it weren't for the deadly meteor that will strike at the end of the round, drastically altering the map and damaging any rockets in its path. One player knows in advance where the meteor will hit, but depending on who they choose to share that information with … well, let's just say you learn who your friends are pretty quick in a meteor apocalypse.

Abandon Planet is the latest work by Don Eskridge, and it's easily his most involved undertaking. Don is the creator of two other successful smart party games, The Resistance and Avalon. So he knows a thing or two about keeping players excited and engaged through simple rules and a focus on exploring unique, intense player interactions.

In Abandon Planet, each player has a rocket to trawl the wreckage of earth for resources. Unfortunately, no one player will have enough time to fix up their rocket alone - you need a partner. You can team up with someone right from the beginning, or keep your options open until the last second, but either way you'll want to strike a balance between making yourself an attractive ally and screwing over other players to get ahead.

To win the game, you and one other player will both need to set aside some resources to begin a countdown, and then make it through one more round with enough surviving components to actually launch. There's almost no limit on the number of teams that can pull this off – everyone can potentially win except for one player or team, as long as everyone plays nice. But once the first wave of rockets launch, anybody left on the planet is stuck. The players who made it to space win; everyone else is obliterated by meteors.

Before deciding on their moves each round, players can coordinate and share information by showing each other their numbered Path cards, which indicate where they'll be flying that round. Once decisions are locked in, everybody reveals their choices simultaneously, and everyone takes turns flying to their destinations – collecting resources if they're available, or stealing them from people you don't like so much.

At the end of each turn, a new meteor strikes, turning the land beneath it into a charred waste! Anybody unlucky enough to be in its path loses everything they collected that turn, plus the surface of the Earth is permanently altered. Farms become refugee camps, cities become junkyards, the horror is unbearable, etc.

If enough meteors strike the same place, it's wiped off the map altogether, reducing movement options for further turns and bringing Earth that much closer to annihilation. Use the remaining heap to scavenge for meteorites or explore the Aftermath and see if anything useful wasn't vaporized. Needless to say, if nobody makes it off the planet before it crumbles to cosmic dust, everybody loses.

CERTAIN ENEMIES/UNCERTAIN ALLIES — Abandon Planet doesn't tell you who your allies are in advance, but it does give you two definite enemies: the players on your left and right. This gives you two people who are definitely safe to screw over from the beginning, helping to avoid the decision paralysis that tends to crop up in other free-for-alls like Diplomacy or Risk. The fact that you can't win on your own also gives you a strong reason to build alliances with other players, encouraging more diplomatic (and devious) play.

SIMULTANEOUS ACTIONS — Each player gets six numbered cards that they can use to indicate which direction they're moving on a given turn. These cards double as a means of covert communication, allowing players to show each other where they're planning to move without getting up from the table and thus breaking the rhythm of play. This also means that a careful observer can see who's talking to whom, and which alliances to watch out for.

THE LEADER AND THE METEOR — At the start of the turn, one player at the table learns where the next meteor is going to fall. This gives them a bargaining chip that they can use to negotiate with other players. They can win favor by sharing the information with potential allies, or lie about where the meteor's going in order to get them blown up or scare them off where they want to go.

AFTERMATH TILES — The meteor itself isn't just a level hazard – it dynamically alters the map every turn, replacing the terrain it destroys with a random Aftermath zone. This creates a constantly new playing field for each of the 8-10 rounds of play. The Aftermath tiles have a wide variety of effects that can inform players' strategies, adding dynamic replayability to the game. And since there are 20 different tiles, players are guaranteed a uniquely explosive adventure every game.

Where does Abandon Planet fit in your game collection? Easy:

It's a smart party game, so right under The Resistance and Avalon.

It's a large group set collection game, so just next to 7 Wonders.

It's a simultaneous action selection romp, so above Cash n Guns.

It's a deal-making extravaganza, so between Bohnanza and I'm the Boss.

It's a unique, bitter slugfest of betrayal and survival in which you'll ally with your friends and then stab them in the back as you rocket off the planet leaving them behind to be annihilated... so, packed next to their copy in the mail!

SMART PARTY GAME — Most party games are fairly slapstick fun - which is fine, but wouldn't you like to play games with your group in which you laugh and plan their destruction? In a smart party game, you can have a great time a few beers in, or with no beers at all. Abandon Planet works beautifully at parties (it moves quickly, plays lively, and takes up to eight players) but it's also a full board game and has a lot going on under the hood. The decisions you make are simple enough to keep play moving, but nuanced enough to reward multiple play-throughs.

A EUROGAME WITH EXPLOSIONS — While we're calling Abandon Planet a party game, it's also got enough depth to appeal to the efficiency-engine gamers in your group. It's got classic worker placement and set collection elements mixed with fast-paced negotiation and deduction. There just aren't many games with this level of depth that take up to eight players - just this and 7 Wonders, and 7 Wonders doesn't have rockets or the apocalypse.

Don Eskridge designed Abandon Planet with the same goals in mind that lead him to create The Resistance and Avalon. The core tenets of Don's design philosophy are:

Organic win conditions – No tallying up victory points. The winner should be obvious.
Constant engagement – Players should spend most of their time playing, not waiting for their turn.
Winning Together – There's no reason why more than one person shouldn't be able to win. In fact, games are better when we win together. Don believes that people are what makes games fun, so why not have them be as involved as possible?

A great part of the experience of this game that Don never even dreamed of is the set of eight unique rockets designed by Bobby Reichle, who created the art for every aspect of the project. These rockets add a huge amount to the experience of the game. Choose your rocket, and make sure no other rocket makes it into space! The galaxy is only big enough for the most stylish rocket after all (yours, obviously).

prototyping for proof of concept

Risks and challenges

Manufacturing, Shipping and Fulfillment are usually the biggest challenges for project creators. Fortunately, we're working with the best names in the business on all sides.

For manufacturing we're working with some of the biggest names in the business behind games like Secret Hitler, Explodings Kittens (AdMagic) and Scythe (Panda). We're determined to have amazing quality for every component.

Also fortunately, we're partnering with BlackBox for warehousing & shipping, which has fulfilled some of the largest Kickstarter campaigns of all time.

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We've put years worth of thought, energy and playtesting into this game because we believe the best experiences are spent with your friends - especially when you're wrecking their plans and destroying their nice things.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 62 or more
About US$ 62

UPDATE - Two copies of Abandon Planet!

Save on games and shipping cost! We guarantee your friends will want this game once they play. Don't you want a gift copy for the first partner you fly to space with? Get two copies and all extra rewards for each.

Abandon Planet also makes for an awesome holiday gift! We'll provide a lovely printable PDF letter to let the future rocket pilot know what they've got coming in the mail.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 85 or more
About US$ 85

Two copies of Abandon Planet!

Save on games and shipping cost! We guarantee your friends will want this game once they play. Don't you want a gift copy for the first partner you fly to space with? Get two copies and all extra rewards for each.

Abandon Planet also makes for an awesome holiday gift! We'll provide a lovely printable PDF letter to let the future rocket pilot know what they've got coming in the mail.